Twenty-six Colombians and two people believed to hold dual citizenship (US – Haitian) took part in the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, authorities said on Thursday as a manhunt has commenced for at least eight more suspects.
Moise was shot and killed after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence last week Tuesday.
READ ALSO: Haiti President, Jovenel Moise, assassinated in private residence
Authorities said they tracked the suspected killers on Wednesday to a house near the scene of the crime in Petionville, a northern, hillside suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, The Guardian reported. There, they arrested a number of suspects after a firefight.
Police chief Charles Leon paraded 17 men at a news conference on Thursday. Items with them included Colombian passports, assault rifles, walkie-talkies, bolt cutters, hammers and machetes.
Charles said, “Foreigners came to our country to kill the president. There were 26 Colombians, identified by their passports, and two Haitian Americans as well.”
He added that “15 Colombians were arrested, as well as two Haitian Americans. Eight escaped while three were killed.”
According to a statement from Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs, eleven of the suspects were arrested after breaking into the embassy of Taiwan in Port-au-Prince, which is located near the residence where Moïse was killed. It is not yet known the nationalities of the men arrested at the embassy.
The Colombians involved in the attack were retired members of the country’s military, Colombia’s defence minister, Diego Molano, said in a statement.
The Haitian-American suspects were also identified as James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, according to authorities. It is yet to be known the motive for the assassination of Haiti’s leader.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has said he was now in charge of the country. He condemned the “inhumane and barbaric act”, adding that the police and the Caribbean country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation. He has since declared a state of siege in the country.
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